Drug kingpin blames stress disorder

Drug kingpin blames stress disorder - The West Australian

Drug syndicate mastermind Marc Quaid will claim that an undiagnosed case of post traumatic stress disorder left over from his time in the army contributed to him becoming involved in the multi-million dollar drug dealing operation.

In May, Quaid was convicted on two counts of possessing methylamphetamine with intent to sell or supply, along with his driver Roberto Zanon, after a major police operation uncovered a major stash of drugs at a Malaga warehouse last year.

The pair were due to be sentenced in District Court today, but the hearing was postponed after it emerged prosecutors were disputing Quaid's claim he was suffering from the disorder for years.

Justice Bruce Goetze scheduled a two-day hearing in October, where Quaid is expected to be cross examined by the prosecution. He will be eventually be sentenced in November.

Quaid spent time in the army as a bomb disposal expert, including working at the Sydney Olympics.

The ten-day trial centred around the evidence of a man who cannot be named, who identified Quaid as the kingpin of the operation, which revolved around communications via mobile phone.

Quaid was known by two codenames - World 150 and FrostGiants - as he directed the movements of kilograms of ice and other drugs.

The jury was told that Zanon acted as Quaid's delivery driver, also using the false name of Adrian Zanich.

And it was revealed Quaid allegedly held meetings about his methylamphetamine business outside his two sons’ Highgate primary school, with the principal giving evidence at his trial.

A key piece of evidence was Quaid’s fingerprints found on a bag containing 4kg of the methylamphetamine seized by police.

Almost $250,000 and a crystalline residue used as a cutting agent was also seized from his home, as well as a Blackberry phone, which police believed held vital information about the drug deals.

However, it emerged the phone’s data was remotely wiped while in police possession.